tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492Fri, 31 Jul 2015 00:38:27 +0000AmsterdamThe NetherlandsAnne FrankAnne Frank HouseOperation Market GardenPetr GinzRijksmuseumThe Haguecauseway across northern Netherlandsdrug control in the Netherlandspolder2010 World Cup soccerA Bridge Too FarAfluitsdijkAfluitsdyke SculptureAfsluitdykeAlkmaarAmerican Holocaust Museum hindered access?AmersfoortAmsterdam chestnut treeArnhemAuschwitzBad ArolsenBavo ChurchBavokerkBelgiumCanadian War CemeteryCorrie Ten Boom houseDaniel CajanusDistrictDomburgDutch East IndiesElfstedentochtEttty HillesumEtty HillesumFrans HalsGerman Holocaust archivesGisela WilliamsGrosbeekGrote KerkeHaarlemHaarlem Grote KerkHollandsche SchouwbergI-AdamIce TourIl SilenzioIndonesiaInternational Tracing ServiceIstanbul's tulip festivalJML MaduroJewish Holocaust MemorialJewish historyJohn FrostJohn Frost BridgeKeukenhofKeukenhof GardensKinderdijkLisseLuxembourgMadurodamMadurodam in ScheveningenMelissa VenemaMetropolitan Museum timelinesMiddelburgMuseum AmstelkringNazi archiveNetherlandsNetherlands in the global pictureNew York TimesNijmegenOur Lord in the AtticPetr Ginz Lens and LegacyPlaces of Petr GinzPragueRembrandtRembrandt SquareRembrandthuisRijkswidgetSaint BavoSaint Bavo the AbuserSimon Jane PappSt. BavoTheaterTheo Van GoghThirty Six Hours SeriesUrk LighthouseUrk. Urk Island LighthouseVE DayVE Day CommemorationVan GoghVermeerWorld War IIZandvoortaccess sought to documentsalley-housesarchivesbest accommodation in the worldbombing of Middelburgcanalscheese marketchild diaristschild diarists WWIIchild diarists of World War IIcity wallscoffee house in Amsterdamcommandoesdecriminalize drug use as to userdiarydistinction between soft and hard drugsdriving ruleseuroperoadwaysfoodgender yesglobal extremistsgreen spaces or developmenthealing Anne Frank's favorite treehempheronhwaetimmigration and religious conflict issuesindustrial behemoths of uniformityitineraries Netherlandskaraokelawslinkslist of child diaristslong track speed skatingmarijuana Netherlandsmasts in canals at eye level through fieldmememoderates in any religionmurder of Theo Van Goghnarrow housesnarrowest house in Amsterdamnatural habitatsnudist beachopen spacepark with miniature villagesparkingporters and sleds for cheesespostsprecautionsprosecute the dealerpunishment vs. monitoringputting countries in global perspectiveresuscibarktationsandlotskatewaysoccersoccer sandlots as feedersspeed limited by the design of the roadspeed skatingstreet chessstreet scene in Amsterdamsubstance use and abusesurvivorsthe Abusertimelines clarify migrationstravel articletulip displaytulipmaniatulips in Maywindmillsyoung adult diarist Etty Hillesumyour meme on drugsThe Netherlands Road Ways Two on the Loose TRAVEL HUMANITIES PHOTOSTwo people, heading out. Improvised road trip, no tours, no reservations. Zandvoort, Lisse, Madurodam, The Hague, Nijmegen, Grosbeek (then to Belgium and Luxembourg), circle back to Domburg, Middelburg, Alkmaar, Alfluitsdijk, Urk, Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Gouda, Haarlem, and Amsterdam.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Dint)Blogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115160120129664905Mon, 03 Mar 2014 18:07:00 +00002014-03-03T08:25:07.475-08:00A Bridge Too FarArnhemIl SilenzioJohn FrostJohn Frost BridgeMelissa VenemaOperation Market GardenArnhem - Operation Market Garden - A Bridge Too Far<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Update 2014. Operation Market Garden, that large and ill-fated military effort, see <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_arnhem_01.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_arnhem_01.shtml</a>, is commemorated each year in The Netherlands.&nbsp; A recent mass email I received notes a burial ground some 6 miles from Maastricht, where 8,301 American soldiers are buried who died in Operation Market Garden.&nbsp; The email says that each of the dead, including Canadian and British, are "adopted" by a family in the Netherlands who tend the grave, and keep alive the memory of the sacrifice.&nbsp; Some display a portrait of "their" soldier.&nbsp; On Liberation Day, services conclude with a concert, with the final musical selection always the same:&nbsp; "Il Silenzio" commissioned by the Dutch, created by Italian composer Nino Rossi, and performed first in 1965.&nbsp; It is built upon the original version of taps.&nbsp; <span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1393853910726_22564" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1393853910726_22568"></span></span><br /><br /> The Silence... as performed in 2013 by thirteen-year old Melissa Venema, with Andre Rieu and the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands. See and hear at <a href="http://http//www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm">http://www.flixxy.com/trumpet-solo-melissa-venema.htm</a><br /><br />...............................................................................................................................<br /><br />&nbsp; <br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0005.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0005.0.jpg" height="257" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" width="400" />A Bridge Too Far, Bridge at Arnhem, Operation Market Garden, the Netherlands (John Frost Bridge)</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A fine time to see this bridge, the primary Bridge Too Far, at Arnhem, is at sunset.&nbsp; This is the bridge featured in the Allied operation, Market Garden, that failed at such cost, an airborne disaster.&nbsp; See the 1977 film at <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075784/l">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075784/l </a>and video clips at ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiiUJ4sDuX0 and at ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKDPX8PEiVk<br /><br />There is a good restaurant here on the river, giving a contemplative view of the bridge. <br /><br />The bridge is named The John Frost Bridge in honor of the commanding officer who held the bridge for such a long time in September 1944, waiting for the reinforcements that never came. See a memorial history at www.rememberseptember44.com/. <br /><br />There is a memorial with pictures, outdoor, nearby. Also see the Airborne Museum in nearby residential Oosterbeek, in the hotel that was a center of the fighting in that area. Another history: www.worldwar2database.com/html/arnhem.</div></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/06/arnhem-operation-market-garden-bridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-1058352444414504266Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:35:00 +00002013-06-13T08:35:28.687-07:00green spaces or developmentindustrial behemoths of uniformityIstanbul's tulip festivalnatural habitatsopen spacetulipmaniaDanger of Tulips - Istanbul origins; and whither the natural habitat?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Keukenhof Gardens, tulips at markets everywhere, but there is a dark side.&nbsp; See Istanbul's tulip festival. The tulip originated in the Ottoman Empire, and Turkey continues its long tradition with some 14,000,000 in bloom at its festival time -- all at a high cost to other interests, see <a href="http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/istanbuls-tulip-festival-camouflages-the-destruction-of-its-green-spaces">http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/istanbuls-tulip-festival-camouflages-the-destruction-of-its-green-spaces</a>/. Tulipmania.&nbsp; The issue is of competing values:&nbsp; open space and natural habitats, or industrial behemoths of uniformity.&nbsp; <br /><br />Green spaces, or development -- not limited to the bulbs.&nbsp; Bridges, parks, fall to the conformists' plantings. Is that so?</div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2013/06/danger-of-tulips-istanbul-origins-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-6911947085282564769Sun, 26 Feb 2012 15:03:00 +00002012-05-25T02:49:36.013-07:00Amsterdamcauseway across northern NetherlandsElfstedentochtIce Tourlong track speed skatingskatewayspeed skatingThe HagueAmsterdam area. Long Track Speed Skating. Waterland-North Ice Tour. Speed Skate It.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Marathons of the Netherlands</b><br /><b>Skateways</b>.</div>.<br />Strap on the speed skates and watch for the officially approved skating tours that crop up north of Amsterdam (a 16 mile route, the Waterland-North) &nbsp;in 2012).&nbsp; On the day of the Waterland-North, there were 32 other officially approved tours, including near The Hague.&nbsp; There is a Royal Dutch&nbsp;Skater's Union, the KNSB.&nbsp; Apparently a single such tour near The Hague drew some 70,000 skaters, see article by Matt Steinglass, <i>Why the Dutch Love to Get Their Skates On</i>,&nbsp;in the Financial Times at <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/6ea81714-56f2-11e1-be25-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1nV2gxhkV.">http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/6ea81714-56f2-11e1-be25-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1nV2gxhkV.</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FLCE_WoZ4js/T0rHnhuy-WI/AAAAAAAANRI/EOXIiyo2l5A/s1600/scan0051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" lda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FLCE_WoZ4js/T0rHnhuy-WI/AAAAAAAANRI/EOXIiyo2l5A/s320/scan0051.jpg" width="320" />Netherlands speed-skating tours. Imagine this frozen, swept, with ruts, skate sharpeners, side food.</a></div>.<br />Along the way, find food stands, blade sharpeners, through the polders, and get your card stamped at the end for proof of Feat.<br />.<br />Its other, perhaps more important than fitness and fun purpose:&nbsp; civil coordination to get the volunteers out to lay mats for walking around too-low bridges with skates on, sweep the ice, set signs, and cooperate with the Icemaster on safety.<br />.<br />Many years, the ice remains too fragile. Consider the 125-mile "Elfstedentocht" -- last Skate? 1997. See it at <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57373580/ice-not-thick-enough-for-dutch-skating-marathon/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57373580/ice-not-thick-enough-for-dutch-skating-marathon/</a><br /><br />Peterson's Magazine 1865 also featured the sport in sporting mode in the US.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WzAEUcsZatE/T0zBuqsvzGI/AAAAAAAANRo/AYAKjRolbVE/s1600/Peterson%27sMarch1865howpattywentskating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WzAEUcsZatE/T0zBuqsvzGI/AAAAAAAANRo/AYAKjRolbVE/s320/Peterson%27sMarch1865howpattywentskating.jpg" width="219" />Skating US 1865, Peterson's Magazine vol XLVIII</a></div><br />Devotees in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada also sweep its Rideau Canal for a skateway for some 6 miles, see <a href="http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/rideau-canal-skateway">http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/rideau-canal-skateway</a>.<br />Inline skaters also have their tours, see international destinations as <a href="http://www.skatelog.com/events/marathons-fasst.htm">http://www.skatelog.com/events/marathons-fasst.htm</a></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2012/02/long-track-speed-skating-waterland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-2705090431232974742Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:54:00 +00002013-06-13T13:23:31.616-07:00BavokerkDaniel CajanusHaarlem Grote KerkSaint BavoSimon Jane Pappthe AbuserHaarlem - Grote Kerk, Dog Whippers, Ship Saws, and the Great Church of St. Bavo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>St. Bavokerk</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>St. Bavo</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Enter St. Bavokeri through the side Oude Groenmarkt, the old vegetable market, up at the altar area.&nbsp; Churches are not just for the devout: churches are history.&nbsp; Fine which churches are named for which saints, what did that saint do to deserve sainthood; and research for quirks in architecture found in those older church settings.<br /><br />1.&nbsp; Saint Bavo.&nbsp; 589-654 AD, Ghent, mostly, Belgium.&nbsp; <br /><br />Rubens painted him.&nbsp; See <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinatio/373321887/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinatio/373321887/</a>&nbsp; Bavo converted to Christianity and gave his goods to the poor.&nbsp; Is that enough to be a saint? The criteria are surprisingly mild. This 6th-7th Centuries period is before the Roman Catholic branch severance from the Orthodox Christian branch, in about 1054 or so. Why is this St. Bavo in Haarlem. <br /><br />There are references to St. Bavo, saving people from the "Kennemers." See <a href="http://www.haarlemshuffle.com/history/topic.php?id=8">http://www.haarlemshuffle.com/history/topic.php?id=8</a>&nbsp; The Kennemers were apparently a local tribe, but their appearance seems to come after St. Bavo.&nbsp;&nbsp; The "Damiate" also refers to courage of Haarlem forebears, but so far we do not see Bavo.&nbsp; <br /><br />2.&nbsp; Other cultural interest<br /><br />In Haarlem's Great Church of Saint Bavo, there is a dog-whipper's chapel, behind an iron grill.&nbsp; That chapel is for those who kept prayers safe by removing troublesome dogs from the church, thus saith the parish program at point VII. <br /><br />There is the Brewers' Chapel, at point XiII. It belonged to the Brewers' Guild, fine, but its records on the walls there include two black marks.&nbsp; These measure the height of the Giant Daniel Cajanus, whose height was 2.64 meters, or 8'8".&nbsp; Daniel Cajanus lived 1703-1749 . He died in Haarlem&nbsp; <br /><br />Then it measures the Dwarf Simon Jane Paap at 84 cm, or 33".&nbsp; He lived 1791-1829, and was buried in Zandvoort.&nbsp; <br /><br />So why is he here in Haarlem?<br /><br />Of additional interest is the ships' models hanging from the rafters, opposite the Brewers' Chapel. There was once a mariners' altar there.<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Three-master 12th Century frigate (what?) </li><li>Armed "pinace" also from the 12th Century (we have to go back!)</li><li>Shallow-draft armed yacht, 16th Century</li></ul>History buffs:&nbsp; As to the 12th Century ships, there apparently is a new weapon commemorated here, that we might have missed: <br /><br /><blockquote>" *** an iron saw on the prow ... as written by John Evelyn in 1641: 'In memory of that invention of saws under their keeles with which they cutt the chayne before the Port of&nbsp; Darniate', in order to conquer the city in 1219 under the lead of William I , earl of Holland. "</blockquote><span id="goog_1271007120"></span><span id="goog_1271007121"></span><br />Haarlem.&nbsp; Keep vetting.&nbsp; Saint Bavo, why are you in Haarlem.&nbsp; Bavo?&nbsp; Bavo?&nbsp; Are you there?&nbsp; Why are you a saint,&nbsp; Bavo?<br /><br /><span id="goog_1271007138"></span><span id="goog_1271007139"></span></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2011/10/haarlem-grote-kerk-dog-whippers-ship.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-6301469170681168261Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:47:00 +00002010-07-04T09:47:53.474-07:00nudist beachZandvoortZandvoort - Long flight - head for the beachZandvoort sounded like sand fort so we went. <br /><br />Yes, it was.&nbsp; We saw no fort but it is a beach area and a perfect first stop after long flight and getting the car. Take off the shoes, enjoy.<br /><br />First things noticed on the way: don't bother spending money and time mowing along the roads if grass and flowers do not interfere with visibility. Yards, roadsides, natural and woolly. And raised pedestrian walkways, and peninsulas of trees and whatnot going right into the road so you have to creep, even one lane, through towns. Very smart. Just design the road so noone can go faster than you want them to. Compliance by <i>design.</i> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC4kvgE-EI/AAAAAAAAKSU/OULCitw0WVU/s1600/scan0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC4kvgE-EI/AAAAAAAAKSU/OULCitw0WVU/s320/scan0033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />There is a nudist beach down the way, but we didn't know that at the time. The unseen nudist beach! Anyway, too early in the year, jackets weather, rain coming, say we, sour grapes ha. See ://www.naaktstrandje.nl/noordholland/Zandvoort/ZandvoortEngels.html/.&nbsp; Go between pole 68 and pole 71, no dogs allowed, so we hear.<br /><br />Go look up your own Images.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2010/07/zandvoort-long-flight-head-for-beach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115248032579078348Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:18:00 +00002015-04-21T15:07:56.114-07:00KeukenhofKeukenhof GardensLisseThe Netherlandstulip displaytulips in MayKeukenhof, Lisse. Tulips - Keukenhof Gardens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Keukenhof:&nbsp; Kitchen Gardens</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lisse </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Tulips arrived in the Netherlands in the 1600's, courtesy of the Ottoman Empire. The flower had been wild, cultivated by the Turks as early as 1000 AD.&nbsp; The name recalls the shape of a turban, see <a href="http://www.holland.nl/uk/holland/sights/tulips-history.html.">http://www.holland.nl/uk/holland/sights/tulips-history.html.</a><br /><br />Update 2015:&nbsp; a video on mechanized tulip bulb harvesting in The Netherlands, see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZ5MAr7d-5Y?rel=0">http://www.youtube.com/embed/wZ5MAr7d-5Y?rel=0 </a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC2w2-pV9I/AAAAAAAAKSM/8y6F96J1MI4/s1600/scan0012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC2w2-pV9I/AAAAAAAAKSM/8y6F96J1MI4/s320/scan0012.jpg" height="320" width="218" />Dan Widing at Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, The Netherlands.&nbsp; Hip-high tulips. Not a raised bed.</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />If possible, time your visit to the Netherlands for tulip time, in May.&nbsp; These fabulous and vast gardens close in July for maintenance and tidying up.&nbsp; Most everything is tulips there, and tulips have a limited bloomsday.&nbsp; See slide show at <a href="http://www.keukenhof.nl/">http://www.keukenhof.nl</a>/. Keukenhof is a public garden -- there since 1949, and now nurtures some 6 million bulbs, says our guidebook. Another book says that some 7 million bulbs bloom each year. Area:&nbsp; 32 hectares.&nbsp; What is that? A hectare is about 2.47 acres, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hectare,&nbsp; So:&nbsp; somewhat less in area than 92 acres?<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0035.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0035.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Keukenhof Gardens, tulips, Lisse, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Even in the rain, the colors are spectacular. Winding, wide walkways, and varieties unimagined.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Arrival in the mist or light rain is fine.&nbsp; A downfall of rain, however, would probably cause the petals to drop. We came almost directly from the airport, in case of heavier rains to come.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0036.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0036.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Keukenhof. Tulip fields, Lisse, the Netherlands</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The choice is to head in another direction, and hope for better weather when you return.&nbsp; Seize the day.<br /><br />Some tulips are past knee-high, and even reach hip-height. Some were up to Dan's waist in some areas.&nbsp; Long, long stems. See http://www/europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/keukenhof_gardens.<br /><br />There are well-spaced and spacious rest areas in the gardens, with food, facilities, but note where you came in. It is easy to get lost. This is a really big place.&nbsp; It was once the hunting grounds of the Teylingen Estate, see 15th Century Countess Jacqueline of Wittelsbach at&nbsp; http://www.keukenhof.nl/images/fck/File/KKH,%20sixty%20years%20as%20the%20paragon%20of%20beauty.pdf<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/tulips-lisse-keukenhof.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-111720207371755419Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:44:00 +00002010-07-04T09:34:22.300-07:00NijmegenOperation Market GardenVE DayNijmegen - Operation Market Garden - Bridge; VE Day<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0032.1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0032.1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Nijmegen, Bridge, Operation Market Garden, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />&nbsp;WWII battle areas: Operation Market Garden, commemorated in the film story, "A Bridge Too Far" (that was the bridge at Arnhem, the focus of the British assault as part of the overall operation, to the north). Here is the bridge at Nijmegen, where the Americans fought.<br /><br />The city is the oldest town in the Netherlands, see //english.nijmegen.nl/historical, dating from Roman times, and Charlemagne.<br /><br />Operation Market Garden had tragic results, see www.thehistorychannel.co.za/site/features/operation_market_garden.php, but much heroism.<br /><br />Hotel:&nbsp; Skip the Casino area, skip the big ones, go right to the bridge bulkhead and look around.&nbsp; There, at the river Waal,&nbsp; by the Bridge itself, is The Hotel Courage. Small, excellent location - and not far from the casino, if that is your interest. The hotel is the houselike building in the foreground below.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0026.1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0026.1.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Bridge at Nijmegen, view with The Hotel Courage&nbsp; right there</a><br /><br /><br />Find the chronology of the battle at www.wingsofliberation.nl/mg-chrono-uk. The Netherlands retains its gratitude for the effort, despite heavy civilian losses. This has become a lasting bond - maybe that does require an overall war cause that is agreed at the time as necessary. Enduring memorials for valor. If there were not an agreed cause, would that have lasted.<br /><br />Active river traffic.<br /><br />See the barge going under the bridge in the picture - many barges on the riverways are also the family's home, and the family car may well be at the prow or stern, for use when docked. There is a great deal of that on the Rhine, in Germany. Also the family dog is often visible. And the car on the prow.<br /><br />Veterans, and those just remembering, or tribute -- so many there, even after all these years. Several men were camped out under the bridge - not homeless-looking - more like veterans. Some slept all night there. We could see from our hotel.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC3c7HEywI/AAAAAAAAKSQ/n8XzhJtX6bA/s1600/Nijmstat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC3c7HEywI/AAAAAAAAKSQ/n8XzhJtX6bA/s320/Nijmstat.jpg" width="266" />Operation Market Garden tribute sculpture, Nijmegen, the Netherlands</a></div><br /><br />US Troops.&nbsp; I believe it was the US 82nd Airborne that focused at Nijmegen at Market Garden. There are annual marches by veterans. See picture and account of Operation Market Garden at www.strikehold504th.com/holland.php.<br /><br />Nijmegen is in Gelderland, central and west in the Netherlands. See a Nijmegen guide at www.nijmegen.nl/ontdeknijmegen/english/index.asp.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/Nijm,.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/Nijm%2C.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />VE Day, 60th Anniversary Parade, Nijmegen, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />For more complete website, see www.world66.com/europe/netherlands/nijmegen.<br /><br />VE Day Commemoration.<br /><br />This parade suddenly went by the window of little place where we were eating, at dusk.<br /><br />The marchers were also in wheelchairs, and it looked like most of the town was participating. It looked like all surviving relatives were invited to join.<br /><br />Nijmegen is also the site of an old Charlemagne castle ruin, see Charlemagne's biography and search for Nijmegen at www.chronique.com/Library/MedHistory/charlemagne. It is on the headland overlooking the river, part later rebuilt in 1030. The connections between places come as a surprise. The royal villa is referred to at www.heroicage.org/issues/6/forsman. This is in connection with Charlemagne and dispute resolutions. Romans also were here. See www.livius.org/no-nz/nijmegen/noviomagus-civil. There is a handy map there.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2005/05/nijmegen-operation-market-garden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-782957252778297968Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:08:00 +00002010-07-04T18:04:58.165-07:00Canadian War Cemeterydrug control in the NetherlandsGrosbeekVE Day CommemorationGrosbeek, near Nijmegen. Canadian War Cemetery, VE DayCanadians in the Netherlands. VE Day Commemoration at Grosbeek, near Nijmegen, 60th Anniversary.<br /><br />There were large numbers of Canadian forces at Nijmegen, and the Netherlands still sends hundreds of bulbs to Ottawa. On VE Day, Canadian veterans and representatives are there for memorial services at nearby Grosbeek.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0027.1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0027.1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Canadian War Cemetery, Military Piper and Dan Widing, Grosbeek, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />A national reputation is still honored. See the piper for the Canadian memorial service. That reminded us of another relative, a Royal Scots Fusilier, who died in WWI and is buried near Ypres, Belgium, at Arras, France.<br /><br />Dan's grandfather was Canadian. We follow them.<br /><br />The Canadians were doing the dirty work in the big dirty wars years before we, the Yanks, decided to get out of our isolationism and get our feet wet in the great moral issues. What's in it for us, we ask.&nbsp; What can we do, asked the Canadians.&nbsp; Is that so?&nbsp; Prove us wrong. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0029.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0029.0.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Canadian Guardsman, Grosbeek Canadian Military Cemetery, NL</a>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2010/07/grosbeek-near-nijmegen-canadian-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115248212833908684Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:46:00 +00002010-07-04T09:19:24.626-07:00Kinderdijkmasts in canals at eye level through fieldpolderwindmillsKinderdijk - Windmills<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0062.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0062.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Kinderdijk, windmill, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Windmills. Whoomp. Whoomp. Most seriously working windmills are the new tall skinny blingy kind that are white, look metallic, and three-armed and in great groups on windfarms.<br /><br />But the old are still there, and many in use.&nbsp; There are sails that attach to the arms to increase the whirl as needed; and a big log of a brake that jabs in to stop it and keep it stopped when that is needed.<br /><br />These are huge. Whoomp. Watch your head.<br /><br />Kinderdijk has a large set of windmills in one place.&nbsp; In some, you can go right in, and climb all around and see where the family stayed and how they arranged their household and sleeping and living areas inside. Read about "Living In A Windmill" at www.kinderdijk.org/tour.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC0Ede6qvI/AAAAAAAAKSI/QOIiR8baXac/s1600/scan0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC0Ede6qvI/AAAAAAAAKSI/QOIiR8baXac/s320/scan0036.jpg" width="320" />Working windmill with sails, near Kinderdijk NL</a></div><br />Watch the arms accelerate or slow when yanked on the anchor to stop it, and then adjust the canvas sails that are attached and rolled. More whoomp. Whoomp. Then see what it is doing for all that work: &nbsp; there is a big screw that dips into the canal, and takes the water and pushes it up to the next level. You soon get used to the thumpiness. If you got careless and walked into one mid-whomp, there you go.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0051.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="317" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0051.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" width="320" />Windmill row, Kinderdijk, the Netherlands</a><br /><br /><br />Windmills are the workers that make the<i> polders, </i>the drained land now used for agriculture and settlements, even cities.&nbsp; See how to drain farmland at www.nai.nl/polders/e/hoe_e.&nbsp; From someone's bright idea, to a concept that supports the farmland that wasn't there before, that produces the food that feeds all the people. Go to that site for a film on how to reclaim underwater areas for farmland.<br /><br />The windmills also powered mills.&nbsp; You can see how it works, like water wheels making power. See ://www.kinderdijk.org/<br /><br /><br /><br />Here is the farmland. The polder itself. Flat flat. Look closely, over our steering wheel for the masts moving along.&nbsp; Looks like they are sailing right through the field. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0041.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="88" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0041.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" width="317" />Polder, or drained farm land. See mast of boat at eye level, canal across the field, near Kinderdijk NL</a><br /><br />The canals network around at field level. If the draining failed, so goes the land.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/kinderdijk-windmills.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115248249559393777Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:55:00 +00002010-07-04T09:28:03.454-07:00JML MaduroMadurodamMadurodam in Scheveningenpark with miniature villagesThe HagueThe NetherlandsThe Hague - Madurodam Miniature Village, ScheveningenWe were interested in recreation and walking, so went first to Madurodam in the town of Scheveningen, that wonder-filled miniature Netherlands world that opened in 1952, a tiny Holland. Full photo tour here: www-pnp.physics.ox.ac.uk/~miyagawa/photo/travel/madurodam/<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0043.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0043.0.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Madurodam Miniature Village, Scheveningen, near the Hague, NL</a><br /><br /><br />The village shows scenes from all over the Netherlands.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0037.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0037.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Scale of miniature village, Madurodam, NL</a><br /><br />Then on to the Hague - arts, politics, courts, diplomacy. See www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=DOORWAYNEWS-uk.<br /><br />Our first picture - a sample scene that looks ordinary. Second picture - same town, but with giants.<br /><br /><b>Details:&nbsp;</b> Little boats glide around, trains and buses go, all of historically significant Holland (looks like) represented in some way here. It is outside The Hague. The towns are recognizable - Schiphol Airport, flat polder land reclaimed from the sea. All to scale.<br /><br /><b>History:&nbsp;</b> This site is a memorial.&nbsp; JML Maduro built it in memory of his son who died in the concentration camp at Dachau in 1945. It is a large website, so look for The Hague and then Madurodam. See www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/holland2005/holland4. Profits to children's charities. Opened in 1952 by Queen Juliana.&nbsp; For some cultural reference, see the 1920 passenger list of the T.S.S. Rotterdam to New York.&nbsp; There are the Maduros.&nbsp; See ://www.gjenvick.com/PassengerLists/Holland-AmericaLine/Westbound/1920-10-19-PassengerList-Rotterdam.html<br /><br />Amazing humans. Out of Dachau, a dream at Madurodam.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/hague-madurodam-miniature-village.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115249467077914386Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:15:00 +00002010-07-04T17:18:18.184-07:00bombing of MiddelburgcommandoesDomburgEttty HillesumMiddelburgThe NetherlandsWorld War IIMiddelburg's Bomb and Domburg's Commandos - WWII<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0026A.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0026A.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Domburg, Allied Commando memorial, beach landing site, the Netherlands, WWII&nbsp;</a><br />&nbsp; <br />Domburg:&nbsp; in the southwest Netherlands area known as Zeeland, a peninsula. It is a seaside resort, and here is someone's fine big beach house. Commandos landed here in secret, coming in on the waves.<br /><br />Imagine the people inside sometime in 1945, probably suitably dressed for the evening dinner, with no idea that - just outside, at the beach, allied commandos are landing and creeping-dash-leaping from the shadows to some meeting place (blades in teeth?) and by now just outside the door. The memorial plaque says just that: allied commandos landed here.<br /><br />A midget submarine, a WWII German Seehund, was found abandoned at Domburg. See www.one35th.com/seehund/sh_operation.<br /><br />Trips and memory-triggers. For us, we think of the beaches at Highlands, New Jersey. The Twin Lights. Bay Head. In WWII, drunken soldiers coming up Portland Road, interrupting our hide-and-seek around the single street light, parents hustling us in until they passed, on their way to the Twin Lights and to the pillboxes and submarine spotting stations up further, way further if they could stagger that far, up the hill.&nbsp; That area along the Shrewsbury River with the ocean beyond, used to be for bootleggers, and the docks with hidden ways. Then it was war.<br /><br /><b>Middelburg-</b>&nbsp; Nearby is Middelburg, little city, big history. Quiet, traditional.&nbsp; It dates from the 8th or 9th centuries, and had been a major port for the Dutch East India Company. The town is far off the regular routes.&nbsp; We came to it just for the drive in remote sections, after all the urban, on our way back, after Belgium and Antwerp.&nbsp; In 1940, the city was bombed by the Luftwaffe to force surrender of Dutch forces. The city is rebuilt, but archives were lost.<br /><br />In the square is a model of a big bomb, on its end, as a reminder and memorial. This site shows "A Boy's Memories:"www.combinedops.com/Walcheren%20WW2_Memories.&nbsp; Read about the Battle of the Netherlands and here is a fair use thumbnail of where Middelburg is, at ://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/d/du/dutch_defense_lines_-_ln-en.jpg<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/d/du/dutch_defense_lines_-_ln-en.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:3t2DG_8IN22UoM:http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/d/du/dutch_defense_lines_-_ln-en.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="68" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Down there, 'way lower right, above the white of Belgium to the south.&nbsp; Germany is at the other border, east. A lovely country ride. Bridges. <br />Etty Hillesum:&nbsp; The young woman in her 20's who wrote a diary in Amsterdam during the War, and died in Auschwitz, was born in Middelburg. See the Virtual Museum at Middelburg at archimon.bravepages.com/zeeland/middelburg.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/middelburgs-bomb-and-domburgs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115248157548037289Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:33:00 +00002010-07-04T09:54:55.964-07:00Alkmaarbest accommodation in the worldcheese marketporters and sleds for cheesesAlkmaar - Cheese Market and Best ApartmentAlkmaar does a brisk cheese trade, but also caters to the tourists. Many photo ops.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC79cs62fI/AAAAAAAAKSc/iX8OhzQwOQw/s1600/scan0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC79cs62fI/AAAAAAAAKSc/iX8OhzQwOQw/s320/scan0003.jpg" width="320" />Alkmaar Cheese Market Lady, Alkmaar NL</a></div><br /><br />Every Friday, as we recall.&nbsp; <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0063.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0063.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Alkmaar, cheese market, the Netherlands</a><br /><br /><br />Fridays are cheese market days - so we timed our visit to be in Alkmaar for it. The town is north of Haarlem, on the way to the big dyke, the Alfluitsdyk, across the North Sea, and do go that way. If no time, loop back to Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport.<br /><br />Alkmaar's Cheese Market - see more at europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/alkmaar_cheese_market.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0049.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0049.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Porters, Alkmaar cheese market, the Netherlands</a><br />Each of those big wheels of gouda, we were told by a porter, weighs about 13 kilograms, and at 2.2 pounds or so to a kilo, each wheel is about 30 pounds?<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0032.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0032.0.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Color-coded cheese sleds, Alkmaar cheese market, NL</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The porters are big. They have to be.&nbsp; They carry the orders to the "public weigh house" on sleds, the colors matching the buyer. Here they are getting things ready, three empty sleds.<br /><br /><br /><br />For a place to spend the night, we didn't want a regular hotel - all too far from the old town and its pedestrian mall - so went to the tourist bureau and found an address right in the old town. Most of the old town is walking only,so you have to park somewhere else and hoof. That's usual. And good for you, and why we pack so little.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0057.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0057.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />World's best accommodation, Alkmaar, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Our spot at first look was discouraging - a large pub to one side where the overnight rental business was conducted, and since this is Holland, there is indeed overt overnight business being conducted all over.<br /><br />There was an outside staircase to a second floor to rooms, and we just took it. Why not?<br /><br />Indeed. It was there, and so were we.<br /><br />Bonanza.<br /><br />Inside was a full apartment, fresh and fine furnishings, all the comforts, and best of all, a huge jacuzzi and also a huge shower with a million heads jetting out absolutely all over. Loved it. Best apartment.<br /><br />Dan's buddy the Porter.The next morning, one of the porters came in for coffee while we were at the pub next door for our breakfast, and told us all about what was to happen at the market. The lady in the picture above did a splendid breakfast and we think Alkmaar is terrific. We have no bathrooms like that here at our house. Must go back. Remember the number up by the door there and go. See what you can do when you are not on a bus?&nbsp; Porters and sleds for cheeses.&nbsp; Great fun for a tourist. And the town is lovely.<br /><br />The city dates from the 10th century. See the history of Alkmaar at www.alkmaar.nl/portal2/pages/english/history.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC8irgMC5I/AAAAAAAAKSg/Tp9ywwPEGcs/s1600/scan0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC8irgMC5I/AAAAAAAAKSg/Tp9ywwPEGcs/s320/scan0047.jpg" width="320" />Weigh station for cheese wheels, on the sleds, Alkmaar Cheese Market, NL</a></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/alkmaar-cheese-market-and-best.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115254796941041345Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:03:00 +00002010-07-04T10:20:35.622-07:00AfluitsdijkAfluitsdyke SculptureAfsluitdykecauseway across northern NetherlandspolderUrk LighthouseUrk. Urk Island LighthouseThe Afsluitdijk across the sea; and Urk - Island fishing village, now on reclaimed mainland<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0025.3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0025.3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Afluitsdijk, Commemorative sculpture to 1930's construction, causeway separating Zuiderzee from Ijsselmeer </a><br /><br /><b>AFLUITSDIJK</b><br /><br />Dykes are everywhere; the largest is the Afsluitdijk in the northern area, finished in the 1930's. It is a 20-mile causeway to Friesland province. It holds back the North Sea (Zuiderzee inlet) from the fresh water lake, Ijsselmeer. Not clear what was saline or not before the dyke, but it appears that it was also saline but not sea-water strength. See the size of it in Afluitsdyk photos at outdoors.webshots.com/album/552587230IKkFdP. The major highway across the dyke is close to sea level - 7-9 meters. <br /><br />It has sluices that flush in and out to maintain the salt that is in the Ijsselmeer, for ecological reasons; and to adjust for storms. Would Mississippi benefit from the technology? It is a matter of will, not way.<br /><br /><b>URK- The Island that is now a peninsula</b><br /><br />The effect of the dykes, especially the Afluitsdyke and overall reclamation, has been to turn islands into towns on the mainland.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/Urklthse.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/Urklthse.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Urk Island Lighthouse, now inland (land reclamation), the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Urk had been a remote fishing village, isolated on its own island, in the Ijsselmeer, east coastal area. With the large Afsluitdijk, the causeway across the northern Netherlands, now across from North Holland to Friesland, land is being reclaimed.&nbsp; Urk, that once was an island with its lighthouse, is now mainland. The lighthouse at Urk is listed at www.lighthousedepot.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=2140.<br /><br />Urk dates from the 900's. See the history of Urk at www.answers.com/topic/urk. One of the oldest Dutch dialects is spoken there. See Urk overview at experts.about.com/e/u/ur/Urk.<br /><br />Much of the land that had been underwater is now agricultural land. Wikipedia has a comprehensible writeup on these polders at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDDCZj1lU1I/AAAAAAAAKSo/bHZl64JVXCA/s1600/scan0042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDDCZj1lU1I/AAAAAAAAKSo/bHZl64JVXCA/s320/scan0042.jpg" width="320" />Urk, the Netherlands. Waterfront. Once a fishermen's community on an island, land reclaimed and getting yuppie.</a></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/afsluitdijk-across-sea-and-urk-island.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115249657110800649Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:52:00 +00002010-07-04T09:50:14.105-07:00Amersfoortcity wallsThe NetherlandsAmersfoort - Wall House and Amsterdam Tiny Town House<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0044.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0044.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Amersfoort, city walls, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Amersfoort is near Utrecht, and the old defenses are still there, with houses built into the city walls. This old fortress section has the narrow windows needed for defense, with just enough room for bows and arrows. See fine photos and history at home.planet.nl/%7Emuije000/Amersfoort/index.<br /><br />There is a large pedestrianized mall in the old town, as is often found, and a large hurdy-gurdy playing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Houses squeezed in places:&nbsp; In Amsterdam, see post,&nbsp; a canal boat tour narrator claimed that this is the world's narrowest house, squeezed between larger neighboring town houses - and we were told it is narrow for tax reasons. Citizens were taxed based on frontage, not depth. I understand the owner makes many euro on tours. Location, location.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC7dGwWy-I/AAAAAAAAKSY/UZW1-VUW9Yo/s1600/hurdygurdydutch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/TDC7dGwWy-I/AAAAAAAAKSY/UZW1-VUW9Yo/s320/hurdygurdydutch.jpg" width="264" />Hurdy-gurdy, Amersfoort, the Netherlands</a></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/amersfoort-wall-house-and-amsterdam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115249542845714728Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:24:00 +00002010-07-04T10:06:12.199-07:00Bavo ChurchCorrie Ten Boom houseFrans HalsGrote KerkeHaarlemSaint Bavo the AbuserSt. BavoThe NetherlandsHaarlem - Grote Kerke, Corrie ten Boom, Frans Hals<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0028.3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0028.3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Corrie ten Boom House, Interior, hiding place, Haarlem, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />The Corrie ten Boom house, on the left, is another home where people hid during WWII, this time in the walls, but for a vastly shorter period of time than The Anne Frank family in Amsterdam (a week, if even that?). Details about CTB's life and the house are at www.corrietenboom.com/.<br /><br />Some 800 Jews were saved in this way, see New York Times article by Beth Greenfield, <i>Classic Dutch City With A Village Feel,</i> at ://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/travel/19dayout.html?partner=rss&amp;emc=rss/ <br /><br />&nbsp;There is the space within the walls for hiding.<br /><br />Finally, when word got out, the Nazis were in and out, searching for them, and during that week, the stakes for the ten Boom family were just as immediate and dire as for the Franks, hidden in Amsterdam.<br /><br />Corrie and the others did escape, over the roofs. Here is a conflict of information:&nbsp; We were told that the family escaped, but the NYT article says they were caught, sent to concentration camps, and Corrie survived.&nbsp; We are checking now.&nbsp; Perhaps the museum information was only for a particular search week.<br />Plan much time for this stop, if you have it - the tour (you cannot go through on your own) is lengthy. There are compulsory sectarian promotions for up to an hour before you can get in the rest of the house. You cannot go through on your own, to speed things up if you are not interested in the motivational speakers.<br /><br />Also, to accommodate the lectures, the doors only open at certain times.<br /><br />Be there on the spot. Doors close. The article expressed surprise that people were already milling about the door at 2PM.&nbsp; That is because people are only allowed in on the dot of the hour, and nobody during lunch.<br /><br />I did read some of Corrie Ten Boom's writings, and they are pensive, human and insightful. The house presentation, however, tends to defeat that. Too forced and evangelical, for me. They want to proseletyze.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.corrietenboom.com/"></a><br /><b>The Bavo Church, the Grote Kerke;&nbsp; St. Bavo Kerke - Kerke=Church.</b><br /><br />The Grote Kerk. It is named after Saint Bavo, who turns out to have been an abuser --&nbsp; of his wife and family and servants in the 6th Century.&nbsp; He converted, but that means, at that time, that he gave up the worldly life and entered a monastery, not that he became <i>Christian</i>.&nbsp; Doctrines were in flux. Apparently he heard a particularly moving sermon by missionary and cleric St. Amand, see Amand at ://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=333.&nbsp;<br /><br />Bavo ended up a hermit in a forest near Ghent, Belgium. See ://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/bavo.html/&nbsp; Saint Bavo the Abuser.<br /><br />In the church is a large Foucault Pendulum setup, after the experiment in 1851 by Foucault to show the earth's rotation. It does, has, is ongoing, for your peace of mind on that issue. See ://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/yearoftheshorts/1/1268469287/tpod.html/.&nbsp; And three ship-model chandeliers, and a painted carving of a little fellow gnawing on a pew.&nbsp;<br /><br />See him to the left, head tilted for a better bite. And there is a fierce snarling thing beside. Love religion. Woodworkers' revenge.&nbsp; The choir was built in about 1400, see ://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/gerrit-berckheyde-the-interior-of-the-grote-kerk-haarlem/.<br />&nbsp; <br />. <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0060.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0060.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />St. Bavo, Grote Kerke, Haarlem, the Netherlands, figure gnawing on pew, interior carving</a><br />. <br />Vestries always have difficulties?<br /><br />There also is another carving of a little fellow beneath the seats in the choir reserved for the wealthy - everyone else had to stand in the lower area. Is he really showing his disdain for the bottoms of his betters seated above him, by showing his below? Where is that picture? Am sure I got it.<br /><br />Frans Hals is buried at the Grote Kerk. For the interior, see ://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/largeImage?workNumber=NG1451&amp;collectionPublisherSection=work/.<br /><br />Haarlem's service for you ladies' District is low-key, clean, neat and tidy, and professional. It is near the main square, where the Grote Kerke is located. If you stroll by in the morning, the windows may well be empty and you can look at the chairs and props better. Tableaux. See before you buy.<br /><br />The Frans Hals Museum is also there, but a longer walk away. Take time for the stroll.&nbsp; Haarlem was Frans Hals' home, at least for a substantial time. For his paintings, see ://www.abcgallery.com/H/hals/hals.html, Olga's Gallery.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/haarlem-grote-kerke-corrie-ten-boom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-204266534905522147Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:18:00 +00002010-07-04T10:06:49.335-07:00Amsterdameuroperoadwaysgender yeskaraokestreet scene in AmsterdamAmsterdam - Street Karaoke - and a site, Photo Gallery<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0053.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0053.0.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Street karaoke, gender yes, Amsterdam, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Amsterdam is a relaxed and livable city. Outdoor cafes, bikes and more bikes. Karaoke - the gentleman in the boots was very talented - much applause from all of us. This was near the Anne Frank House.<br /><br />Here is a fine photo gallery for Amsterdam: www.pbase.com/bauer/amsterdam.<br /><br />More blogs about <a href="http://technorati.com/blogs/netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com" rel="tag directory">The Netherlands Road Ways</a>.<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/blogs/"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/tbf.gif" /></a>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/09/amsterdam-street-karaoke.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115247900837485044Sun, 30 Dec 2007 21:43:00 +00002010-07-04T08:11:44.056-07:00coffee house in Amsterdamdistinction between soft and hard drugsDistricthempMuseum AmstelkringOur Lord in the AtticRijksmuseumAmsterdam - Coffee House (not coffee); and the District<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0058.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0058.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a>Recreation at will, so long as someone does not interfere with someone else. Users tolerated, dealers, not.&nbsp; Focus on the regulation, the sources.&nbsp; Monitoring, safety, health measures, not prohibition.<br /><br />Users have access to soft drugs at controlled settings, free of contact with the hard users or dealers; such as at this "coffee house."&nbsp; Users are not the target,&nbsp; but producers and dealers are. Hard drugs are considered an unacceptable risk to society, but the softer ones not so. <br />Distinction between soft and hard drugs.<br /><br />Here is a coffee house - remember that the name does not mean that coffee is sold there. It is a recreational substance establishment. All is relaxed about people's personal choices. A person is free to be responsible for himself, users are tolerated, pushers are not. We missed the Hash Museum. See www.hashmuseum.com/.<br /><br />One of the sculpture lions outside the Rijksmuseum even had a joint in its mouth. Looked perfectly happy.<br /><br />Hemp has been used for medicinal and other purpose for centuries - maybe the first reference is 8000 BC in Mesopotamia. For details on various categories of uses, see www.sdearthtimes.com/et0199/et0199s11. Examples: rope, materials for the Dutch sailing and shipping industries.<br /><br />And in the District, many people are friendly, and wave from the windows when they get bored or just want some fun, and business gets conducted without the tawdry desperation we see here. Join the profession, leave, as you like. Other in the windows just are there, looking bored or tired. If she contracts an illness, I understand, she must stop and can take retirement with treatment and at subsidized housing. True? Regulation rather than prohibition? Up to the Powers, but information always helps. Check out your own.<br /><br />How do we know this? Because we were going to church. This one.<br /><br />We were going to the Museum Amstelkring - and it is in the District. It is an example (now museum) of a hidden church, necessary for the Roman Catholics when Catholicism was outlawed in the late 16th century. The church is splendid -- on a second and third floors of a house, spreading over two widths at those higher levels. The sanctuary is two floors high. See ://www.bma.amsterdam.nl/adam/uk/huizen/ozvb40i.html/ for <i>Our Lord In The Attic.</i><br /><br />We would have walked around the District anyway.<br /><br />And in the District, many people are friendly, and wave from the windows when they get bored or just want some fun, and business gets conducted without the tawdry desperation we see here. Join the profession, leave, as you like. Other in the windows just are there, looking bored or tired.Some of the best-humored seemed to be the older purveyors - friendly waves. With skills, they can continue for years: just pay the rent. Far less fear for everyone on the street, including the pedestrians. See ://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution-in-the-netherlands/http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/amsterdam-coffee-house-not-coffee-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115247781577844484Sun, 30 Dec 2007 21:32:00 +00002010-07-04T08:12:02.938-07:00canalsheronparkingAmsterdam - Canal ice cream, houseboats, parking<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0025.6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0025.6.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Heron on houseboat, Amsterdam NL</a><br /><br />That is a heron on the houseboat. Houseboats can be rented by the week. Prime real estate.<br /><br /><div>Watch for the canal take-out.<br /><br />On this canal, we saw a family pull up while still in their little outboard motorboat, ring the brass bell and out cames a waiter to take their ice cream order. Dash back in and presto - cones for all. Houseboats are becoming pricey, I understand - best non-real estate deal around.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0050.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0050.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Houseboats, canal, Amsterdam, NL</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The canals are lined with houseboats.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0033.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0033.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Boat-it over for ice cream, canal scene, Amsterdam, the Netherlands</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0033.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">Houseboat row, Amsterdam, the Netherlands</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0048.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0048.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />&nbsp;</a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Parking is hold-your-breath. The cars just roll right in all the time. Parking is usually at an angle, to maximize space. And to facilitate the big splash. The authorities have special car-retrieval equipment.<br /><br />There are also large underground garages.<br /><br />Most areas along the canals are limited to residents who display a parking permit. So head for the underground lots. When finding a place to stay, it is best to find the garage first, in an area with some hotels, then park and find a nearby hotel. Mark a map where your hotel is, and write out the cross-streets. Easier to ask directions back.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/amsterdam-canal-ice-cream-houseboats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-111720141921411474Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:31:00 +00002010-07-04T08:12:23.650-07:002010 World Cup soccerAmsterdamsandlotsoccersoccer sandlots as feedersstreet chessAmsterdam - Big-As Life Chess, Sandlot Soccer - City Block size<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0056.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0056.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Life-size chess board, Amsterdam</a><br /><br />On the big chess board, White was winning.<br /><br />This approach to chess is not unusual in Europe. Find one in Salzburg, other places.&nbsp; <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />For the soccer, there was an entire half-city block full of sand - no dogs allowed - and it was soccer each time we went by.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0054.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0054.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />City block-size sandlot soccer, Amsterdam, the Netherlands</a><br /><br />Update July 3, 2010 - The World Cup Soccer in South Africa is going on, and the Netherlands just beat Brazil, see ://netherlands.worldcupblog.org/ <br /><br />Other countries:&nbsp; clear sandlots and watch the pickup games pick up. Is that so? soccer sandlots as feeders for champion teams.&nbsp; Make it a part of everyday life.<br /><br />How about the Bronx next?<br /><br />Also see street soccer in Dubrovnik.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2005/05/amsterdam-street-karaoke-big-as-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-1169994255128329581Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:52:00 +00002010-07-03T23:44:34.011-07:00global extremistshwaetimmigration and religious conflict issuesmoderates in any religionmurder of Theo Van GoghNetherlandsTheo Van GoghNon-Romanticizing Any Country - Amsterdam, The Death of Theo Van Gogh<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Theo Van Gogh</b><br /><b>Immigration, Tolerance, Intolerance, How to Survive Together </b></div><br />Van Gogh had made a film in the Netherlands that offended a particular Islamist because of the film's depiction of treatment of women, among other issues. There are now about a million Dutch-born Muslims in the Netherlands - of a total population of about 16 million. He was murdered on November 2, 2004 in Amsterdam, for producing the film.&nbsp; See a chronology of news accounts and links at ://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/theo-van-gogh/&nbsp; He was the great-great grandson of the brother of Vincent Van Gogh, also named Theo. See ://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324660/<br /><br />Travel leads to post-trip interest in the country's political, social, religious events and climate. The issue of global immigration and conflicting religious views leading to violence is historically familiar, whether Christian or Islam, see <a href="http://www.http//martinlutherstove.blogspot.com/2010/06/religious-oreo-originalism-and.html">Originalism and Literalism v. Reason and Practicality</a>. Throughout the world, see the clash of intolerance of self-determination deviation and tolerance for self-determination. The murder of Theo Van Gogh highlights its modern form.&nbsp; See the book <i>Murder in Amsterdam, The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance</i>, by Ian Buruma, reviewed by Christopher Caldwell in the New York Times, 9/20/2006 at page 8.<br /><br />Philosophy, tolerance, the place of newcomers, and what if the newcomers are physically aggressive about their cause, the the old-timers use language and political processes.&nbsp; These are global issues.<br /><br />There is an active counterculture, and no resolution in sight.<br /><br />The issue fosters a deadly earnestness about oppositions. Extremes east and west, not limited to any particular framework.&nbsp; Moderates are in each.&nbsp; Sing of moderation.<br /><br />Hwaet. Listen up. See Beowulf's bard being sure he has people's attention before telling his tale at ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/beowulf-oe.html/<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://oxyuranusscutellatus.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/theovangogh.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:EXKeA86iwwSD1M:http://oxyuranusscutellatus.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/theovangogh.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="65" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Theo Van Gogh. Do an Images search - fair use thumbnail, see userstelenet.be. One of many. Beware the hate sites disregard the obvious: that extremes do not speak for the middle and that Christians have engaged in purges of others also, and some still do.&nbsp; See Scott Roeder at ://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/us/30roeder.htmlhttp://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2007/12/non-romanticizing-any-country-amsterdam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-115249632017870240Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:45:00 +00002010-07-04T08:13:05.169-07:00Anne FrankAnne Frank Housechild diarists WWIIEtty HillesumJewish historylist of child diaristsPetr Ginzyoung adult diarist Etty HillesumAmsterdam - Residents - Anne Frank, Etty Hillesum; Holocaust Memorials<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0034.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0034.0.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Anne Frank House, Amsterdam</a><br /><br />The Diary of Anne Frank.<br /><br />Here, is Anne Frank's hidden place, behind walls and up attics from her father's business, where day to day work continued while everyone kept silent above during the day, fearing flushes. These posts began as travel-logs. Now, current events and comment move in.<br /><br />An old tree, outside her window, at the top, is apparently going to be preserved, after an initial decision to cut it down because of disease.<br /><br />Anne Frank was the young girl who kept a diary of the time she and her family and others hid from the Nazis in WWII. Her home is also a museum now -- perhaps too much spruced up, looks too modern from the outside (last visit was in 1961), and is more manicured and staged -- still, not to be missed. See an account of her letters at www.literarytraveler.com/articles/anne_frank_her_life.aspx.<br /><br />The door to the warehouse-office is the one with the little sign to the right. See the Anne Frank Museum website at www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=2&amp;lid=2.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Look up more information about the Franks.</span><br /><br />There is a biography of Anne Frank also - by Melissa Muller, 1998 or so. The review in the New York Times, Tuesday, 11/29/90, says that the Franks nearly made it safely. Their train, to Auschwitz, was the last to leave the Netherlands. Anne and her sister died just a few weeks before the camp where they ended up, Bergen-Belsen was liberated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Her father's efforts to save the family.&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;</span>Recently, letters showing her father's efforts to get the family out of Holland and by any route to safety, including into the United States, have been in the news. See post-gazette.com/pg/07026/756900-44.<br /><br />We turned the family away because of huge immigration waiting lists, policies restricting who could enter, anti-Semitism and other issues. See today's (2/15/07) Hartford Courant http courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-frank0215.artfeb15,0,1490308.story.<br /><br />Here is a fair use quote from Richard Breitman, cited there. He is an American professor interested in intelligence issues, both German and American from the time. "The decision to try hard came too late. The Nazis made it hard to leave, and U.S. made it hard to seek refuge there, both by accident and by conscious policy."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other young besieged diarists:<br /><br />Rutka Laskier</span>, Bedzin, Poland. See "Rutka's Notebook: A Voice From The Holocaust," 2008, see <a href="http://polandroadways.blogspot.com/2008/06/children-of-holocaust-diarist-rutka.html">Poland Road Ways, Children of the Holocaust Diaries, Rutka Laskier</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At pages 86-89 of Rutka's Notebook are listed more</span> -<br /><ul><li>Dawid Sierakowiak, from Lodz, Poland;<br /></li><li>Mary Berg, from the Warsaw Ghetto;<br /></li><li>Miriam Chasczewacka, Radomsko, Poland;<br /></li><li>Julius Feldman, Krakow;<br /></li><li>Moshe Flinker, emigrated from Poland to the Netherlands, ultimately deported to Auschwitz;<br /></li><li>Tamara Lazerson, Kovno, Lithuania;<br /></li><li>Ruthka Lieblich, Andr;ychow, Silesia;<br /></li><li>Halina Nelkin, Krakow;<br /></li><li>Masha Rolnik, Vilna Ghetto (Vilnius), Lithuania;<br /></li><li>Isaac Rudashevski, Vilna Ghetto (Vilnius);<br /></li><li>David Rubinowicz, Krajno, Poland.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zlata Filipovic -</span> <a href="http://www.bosniaroadways.blogspot.com/">Bosnia Road Ways</a>- the then-11 year old girl, Zlata Filipovic, in Sarajevo in 1991. There is a review of Zlata's work, comparing that to Anne Frank, at jvibe.com/popculture/zlata. Other young people have posted videos and posts from bombed areas in Lebanon since then, as well as from other countries. See searchforvideo.com/countries/lebanon/ and other countries. Or go to YouTube.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Etty Hillesum</span> - Back in Amsterdam, Etty Hillesum is another Jewish person who wrote her diary, one less known that that of Anne Frank, and in a different age group altogether. She was a young woman in her late 20's, living and working in Amsterdam, and writing before and even while at Auschwitz, where she died. Very different life issues. <br /><br />Try the diary of this 27-year old young woman, for an adult perspective and series of thoughts, on relationships, circumstances, in <i>Etty - A Diary 1941-43</i> by Etty Hillesum,&nbsp; She was born in 1914, and died in Auschwitz in 1943. Triad/Panther paperbacks 1985 (my copy).<br /><br />She lived in Amsterdam.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Petr Ginz, Prague, the Czech Republic, </span>see <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/%20http://czechrepublicroadways.blogspot.com/2007/08/prague-at-war-world-war-ii-operation.html">Czech Republic Road Ways, Prague at War</a> (see excerpt from Diary of Petr Ginz about the assassination by the Polish Resistance of Nazi leader, Reynhard Heidrich). See also <a href="http://petrginz.blogspot.com/">Places of Petr Ginz</a>.<br /><br />Here are some of her words: www.creativequotations.com/one/291.htm.<br /><br />The Holocaust is also well remembered at an open-air theater, the Hollandse Schouwberg where Jews were collected and catalogued and then could go home before being "called up" to report. See www2.holland.com/us/discover/amsterdam/highlights/jewishheritage/quarter.jsp. There are names, pictures, accounts.<br /><br />For the history of the Jews in the Netherlands, see www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/netherlands.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2006/07/amsterdam-food-canals-rembrandt-anne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-3726331371403737198Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:49:00 +00002010-07-04T08:13:26.816-07:00child diarists of World War IIdiaryPetr Ginz Lens and LegacyPlaces of Petr GinzPragueAmsterdam - Diary of Anne Frank; compare to Prague child-diarist, Petr Ginz<div style="text-align: center;"><b>&nbsp;Anne Frank</b></div><br />Anne Frank is a familiar diarist, a child writing in hiding during the German occupation in World War II, and finally being sent to her death in Auschwitz. See, one out of many resources, www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/af/htmlsite/. She lived with enforced silence around her every day.<br /><br />A young adult, Etty Hillesum, also kept a diary, as did others. See <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/%20http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=13215492&amp;postID=115249632017870240">Netherlands Road Ways, Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum, diarists</a>.Another child also kept a diary, Petr Ginz in Prague. See <a href="http://www.blogger.com/:http://www.petrginz.blogspot.com">Places of Petr Ginz</a>; and <a href="http://www.petrginzplaces.com/">Petr Ginz: Lens and Legacy</a>.<br /><br />This is to encourage countries to cross-reference the places and writings of diarists in WWII, in their own museums and reconstructed houses. There are many. Give us a map, with pins even. <br /><br />They all differ in the environments and concerns they had before the War, and during, until their deaths. Each offers another side to the prism.<br /><br />Petr Ginz was far more objective than Anne in describing his daily life, but then again, he was still in the middle of his life's activities. Anne was already isolated.<br /><br />He lived with his family openly in their home, conducting a daily family and school life as far as the Occupation and devastation would or would not permit. His entries lay out the mechanics of progressive intrusions, deportations, and deprivation. He also was killed at Auschwitz, at age 16.<br />. <br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/Rsbs_HaeFdI/AAAAAAAAA5A/jA7OtF2IG-4/s1600-h/prgjqspansyn10.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100024197109650898" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/Rsbs_HaeFdI/AAAAAAAAA5A/jA7OtF2IG-4/s320/prgjqspansyn10.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Dusni Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Prague. The surroundings of child diarists in WWII, here Petr Ginz</a><br />&nbsp;.<br />We know few of the places that Anne Frank loved in Amsterdam. She was locked in. By contrast, Petr's diary is alive with city happenings, and references to events.<br /><br />Here, for example, is the portal of the Spanish Synagogue in Prague, the "Dusni" Synagogue (it was located on Dusni Street) where Petr watched property being removed by the Nazis. Diary at Page 49. Did they read, shalt not steal.<br /><br />Anne saw none of the daily violences of Occupation.<br /><br />Read his full diary in the 2007 book, <i>The Diary of Petr Ginz 1941-1942,</i> edited by his sister, Chava Pressburger who also includes an introduction and some entries from her own diary. This was translated from the Czech by Elena Lappin, Atlantic Monthly Press 2007. The many sides of experience, and how people cope.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2007/08/amsterdam-diary-of-anne-frank-compare.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-4173576116105654590Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:56:00 +00002010-07-04T08:13:48.325-07:00alley-housesAmsterdamnarrow housesnarrowest house in AmsterdamAmsterdam: Narrowest House in the City? The World?<div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b>Step Right Up to the Narrowest House In The World?</b></div><br />Alley-houses. A single door width at street level, single windows going up.<br /><br />Several cities around the world boast this kind of residence, built in the alleyways, as the narrowest in the world. See Scotland's bid at ://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/1634975.stm; and Brazil's at ://freshome.com/2007/11/06/narrowest-house-in-the-world-just-1-meter-wide/<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/R4gTFnNXS4I/AAAAAAAACNI/Iahx7RjbBZU/s1600-h/scan0059.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154390760670841730" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/R4gTFnNXS4I/AAAAAAAACNI/Iahx7RjbBZU/s320/scan0059.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" />Alley-house in Amsterdam. Narrowest house in city?</a><br /><br />The advantage of this location location location is, or used to be, low taxes.&nbsp; Taxes were often assessed based on front footage, or first-floor footprint.&nbsp; In some places, that practice led to overhangs on higher floors, extending in various directions.&nbsp; Many places boast skinny houses built in the equivalent of alleys between other buildings.<br /><br />Which is the narrowest in Amsterdam?&nbsp; The contestants line up.<br /><br />We recall that this is, but another site shows another house entirely: see ://goeurope.about.com/od/amsterdampictures/ss/amsterdam_7.htm/.<br /><br />And this next one shows a clock facade:&nbsp; ://www.amsterdamtourist.nl/en/home/about+amsterdam/Amsterdam+Surprise/article/xp/content_artikel.Surprise+EN+-Narrowest+house+in+the+world/default.aspx /<br /><br />There is a house near Conwy Castle, Wales, that makes the same claim as the world's narrowest house.<br /><br />So, in Amsterdam, said to be the narrowest house in Europe. See <a href="http://goeurope.about.com/od/amsterdampictures/ss/amsterdam_7.htm">Another narrow house</a>. Then there is this one at Singel No. 7, fair use thumbnail from ://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/128061040_a35ac665e7.jpg<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/128061040_a35ac665e7.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:RUWsfEZ6Df-jvM:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/128061040_a35ac665e7.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="60" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />said to be the narrowest house in the world:<br /><br />Then there is this one,<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.nedwater.eu/pictures/amsterdam%20narrowest%20house.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:CYoNY8dGGU7b4M:http://www.nedwater.eu/pictures/amsterdam%20narrowest%20house.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="63" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />fair use from http://www.nedwater.eu/pictures/amsterdam%20narrowest%20house.jpg <br /><br />Do an images search for narrowest house Amsterdam, and see even more. Somewhere is a site with stories about how they came to be, but we lost it. Gentlemen, start your facades.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2009/01/amsterdam-narrowest-house.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-9179489738151436885Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:15:00 +00002010-07-04T08:10:45.262-07:00RembrandtRembrandt SquareRembrandthuisRijksmuseumRijkswidgetVan GoghVermeerArt in Amsterdam - Rembrandt; VanGogh; Vermeer; the Rijksmuseum<div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b>Art in Amsterdam:&nbsp; Artists, Museums</b></div><br /><b>Rembrandt. 1606-1669.</b><br /><br />Find his history and place in art at ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rembrandt/. At that site, you can click on specific works - go to <i>The Night Watch</i> - one of his most famous.&nbsp; Here is a fair use thumbnail of <i>The Night Watch</i> from ://college-de-vevey.vd.ch/auteur/livres/connaissance/tomeIV/night-watch-rembrandt.jpg<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Night Watch.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://college-de-vevey.vd.ch/auteur/livres/connaissance/tomeIV/night-watch-rembrandt.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="79" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:hmTtlsGpk9w4hM:http://college-de-vevey.vd.ch/auteur/livres/connaissance/tomeIV/night-watch-rembrandt.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="96" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The 1642 painting is also misunderstood as Night Watch. They are just militia.&nbsp; No reference to time of day. The dark color is not the time of day, or event.&nbsp; Varnish darkened over time and when that was removed in 1942, the name stuck.&nbsp; The group in the portrait, and the real title, is <i>Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch</i>, Kloveniersgoven militia, civic guard, caught informally, just before moving out.&nbsp; See ://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/139-rembrandt-night-watch/&nbsp; Some of the officials did not want to pay because their faces were not full front. See www.historyofholland.com/rembrandt-and-the-nightwatch.html/.<br /><br />Back to the ibiblio site at the top, click on the sections for his individual portraits - note the light and dark, the light source, the fading and contrasts.<br /><br />This Rembrandt statue in Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam highlights the light. Walk around it and it appears to move, the folds of the gown, his expression.&nbsp; His house is now a fine museum. See The Rembrandthuis at www.rembrandthuis.nl/cms_pages/index_main.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/1600/scan0045.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6805/772/320/scan0045.jpg" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" />Rembrandt Statue, Rembrandt Square, Amsterdam</a><br /><br />See Rembrandt Square, the old Butter Market, at<br />aviewoncities.com/amsterdam/rembrandtsquare.<br /><br /><b>The Rijksmuseum.</b><br /><br />This is worth a day in itself. Save your museums for when it rains.<br /><br />Or, you can download the Rijkswidget and see a different painting from the collection every day. Go to rijksmuseum.nl/widget?lang=en.<br /><br />Trips trigger the past. I found there a particular painting, <i>Old Woman at Prayer,</i> by Nicholaes Maes 1656 - a reproduction that was absolutely huge (the original is little) had been familiar since childhood.&nbsp; That is a little kitten scratching at the lower right corner of the tablecloth.&nbsp; Any painting there:&nbsp; see the website's easy referencing.<br /><br />Old Woman at Prayer.&nbsp; <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.wisdomportal.com/Gratitude/Maes-OldWomanPraying.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="79" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:4Na6sZffVv2aRM:http://www.wisdomportal.com/Gratitude/Maes-OldWomanPraying.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="66" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Fair use thumbnail of Old Woman at Prayer at ://www.wisdomportal.com/Gratitude/Maes-OldWomanPraying.jpgIt is even reproduced in the museum store. To find what you want: start at masterpieces, selecta theme (for this old woman, at her meal, I typed in "woman;" and scrolled across every single object-painting with woman as a main theme. Ingenious locator. Go to rijksmuseum.nl/index.<br /><br />Going up the walkway, we saw a joint in the lion's mouth and lots of tourists taking pictures. So did we. Amazing how legal things can blend in, regulate behavior as it affects others, but not in privacy; and people just make choices.&nbsp; In the Netherlands, soft drugs like hashish and marijuana are treated differently than hard drugs, and users are not punished:&nbsp; go after the big dealers. Decriminalize. <br /><br />US approach:&nbsp; Make something illegal as to users.&nbsp; Then see all the negatives of deputizing and enforcers fly about like, pointing fingers, regardless of what they do in their own lives, like so many airborne monkeys. A new Oz.<br /><br /><b>Van Gogh Museum.</b>&nbsp; Then see the VanGogh Museum across the way. Modern. This site takes you to many cities and sites - go to arounder.com. For the Van Gogh in Amsterdam, go to amsterdam.arounder.com/arounder_specials_van_gogh_museum/java. For VanGogh himself and his art, go back to the Web Museum site, Paris - ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/gogh/.&nbsp; We understand that many tours do not go to the Van Gogh because it has an admission fee.&nbsp; It is worth it.<br /><br />A favorite in Amsterdam - The Potato Eaters, unforgettable look at regular people, homely like you and me, eating regular food.<br /><br />The Potato Eaters.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/images/Potato_Eaters_Van_Gogh_April_1885.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:65QHUgBiiTBklM:http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/images/Potato_Eaters_Van_Gogh_April_1885.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="112" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Fair use thumbnail of the Potato Eaters from ://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/images/Potato_Eaters_Van_Gogh_April_1885.jpg <br />Click on the thumbnail of the painting at the site, and the large size appears. For VanGogh fake paintings issues, see vggallery.com/misc/fakes/fakes2.<br /><br /><b>Johannes Vermeer. </b>A huge mural here. Here is the Rijksmuseum gallery of Vermeer works: rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_artists/00017083?lang=en. Girl with Pearl Earring. Vermeer's Painting. See about-vermeer-art.com/vermeer/vermeer-oil-paintings/paintings/1.<br /><br />Here is Vermeer's Milkmaid.<br /><br />The Milkmaid. <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.navigo.com/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/vermeer.milkmaid.jpg" id="thumbnail"><img alt="See full size image" height="80" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:R7ufkhZb_XUyBM:http://www.navigo.com/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/vermeer.milkmaid.jpg" style="border: 1px solid; float: left; margin: 10px 10px 0pt;" width="72" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Fair use thumbnail from ://www.navigo.com/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/vermeer.milkmaid.jpg/&nbsp; You may remember Vermeer from his Girl With a Pearl Earring, later a book.http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2007/02/art-in-amsterdam-rembrandt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13215492.post-5740546184071543822Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:17:00 +00002012-05-25T02:35:28.765-07:00Amsterdam chestnut treeAnne FrankAnne Frank HouseAuschwitzchild diaristshealing Anne Frank's favorite treePetr GinzresuscibarktationAmsterdam. Anne Frank's Window View - Her Beloved Tree<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b>Keeping Up Museums</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Amsterdam Chestnut Tree</div><br />Keeping up museums takes many forms.&nbsp; See the New York Times, October 2, 2007. There is an old chestnut tree, outside the window, outside Anne Frank's room in the Annex where she hid with her family during World War II in Amsterdam. It is ailing and about to get emergency resucibarktation measures. It has fungi and rot, like the rest of us, at 150 years old.<br /><br />While the globally familiar Anne Frank house gets publicity for its fine work to boost this tree, perhaps the Anne Frank house could expand its exhibit to include reference to those others in WWII who kept diaries, children, teens, young adults.&nbsp; Themes emerge in travel - what it was like in WWII is one of them.<br /><br />We deeply revere Anne Frank, but there are other diarists of World War II, not just Anne Frank.<br /><br />Deaths of children.<br /><br />Use her fame to teach about some of the others, like Petr Ginz, in Prague. His diary came to light late, but he was involved and witnessed the everyday deprivations and deportations of Jews for several years of the occupation, before himself being sent to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. See <a href="http://petrginz.blogspot.com/">Places of Petr Ginz</a>. He was not sequestered and in hiding; but lived his life with day-to-day Nazi contact.<br /><br />Anne died at Bergen-Belsen, see <a href="http://germanyroadways.blogspot.com/2011/01/bergen-belsen-documentation-center.html">Germany Road Ways, Bergen Belsen </a>; others of her family died at Auschwitz, is that so?&nbsp; She had been quiet and introspective, and gifted.&nbsp; Petr was artistic, but more rough-and-tumble. Then again, he could be:&nbsp; he was not in hiding.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/RmWftgR-izI/AAAAAAAAAac/5CGQqmru1Yg/s1600/Auschw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0/RmWftgR-izI/AAAAAAAAAac/5CGQqmru1Yg/s320/Auschw1.jpg" width="320" />Child diarists, WWII.&nbsp; Keeping in mind more than Anne Frank. The death camps. Here, Auschwitz, Poland, where Petr Ginz of Prague died</a></div><br /><br /><br /></div>http://netherlandsroadways.blogspot.com/2007/11/anne-franks-window-view-barking-up-same.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dint)0